Method and apparatus for building an intelligent automated assistant

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus are provided for building an intelligent automated assistant. Embodiments of the present invention rely on the concept of “active ontologies” (e.g., execution environments constructed in an ontology-like manner) to build and run applications for use by intelligent automated assistants. In one specific embodiment, a method for building an automated assistant includes interfacing a service-oriented architecture that includes a plurality of remote services to an active ontology, where the active ontology includes at least one active processing element that models a domain. At least one of the remote services is then registered for use in the domain.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/518,292, filed Sep. 8, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,677,377, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/715,324, filed Sep. 8, 2005, which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to intelligent systems and relates more specifically to tools for building classes of applications for intelligent automated assistants.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Intelligent systems, such as intelligent automated assistants, that are capable of interacting with humans (e.g., by observing user behavior, communicating with users, understanding observed situations, anticipating what a user may need and acting to produce useful behavior) are valuable in a variety of situations. For example, such systems may assist individuals who are impaired in some way (e.g., visually, auditorially, physically, cognitively, etc.), including elderly people (who may be stricken by one or more ailments), surgeons (whose eyes, hands and brains are constantly busy/when performing operations) and business executives (who may have numerous tasks to accomplish), among others.

To accomplish all of these objectives, intelligent automated assistants integrate a variety of capabilities provided by different software components (e.g., for supporting natural language recognition, multimodal input, managing distributed services, etc.). Development of a system incorporating these different software components typically requires knowledge of numerous different programming languages and artificial intelligence-based methods. Thus, the development of an intelligent automated assistant is a complex task that typically requires contribution from a plurality of highly skilled individuals each having expertise in different aspects of programming; it is nearly impossible for a lone software developer to build an intelligent automated assistant due to the breadth and variety of expertise that is required to build the system. The typical development process for building intelligent automated assistants is therefore relatively inefficient in terms of time, cost and manpower.

Thus, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for building an intelligent automated assistant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method and apparatus are provided for building an intelligent automated assistant. Embodiments of the present invention rely on the concept of “active ontologies” (e.g., execution environments constructed in an ontology-like manner) to build and run applications for use by intelligent automated assistants. In one specific embodiment, a method for building an automated assistant includes interfacing a service-oriented architecture that includes a plurality of remote services to an active ontology, where the active ontology includes at least one active processing element that models a domain. At least one of the remote services is then registered for use in the domain.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of an active ontology execution environment according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of an exemplary active ontology that is configured as an autominder for reminding a user to take medicine after meals (e.g., configured for activity and/or time recognition);

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for processing facts in accordance with an active ontology (e.g., configured in a manner similar to the active ontology of FIG. 1) according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of an open standard-based system for developing and managing an intelligent system using active ontologies;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a framework for dynamically registering and coordinating distributed services using active ontologies; and

FIG. 6 is a high level block diagram of the present intelligent system building method that is implemented using a general purpose computing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment, the present invention is a method and apparatus for building an intelligent automated assistant. Embodiments of the present invention rely on a developer-friendly unified framework, referred to as an “active ontology”, which integrates multiple system-building capabilities in a single tool. An “ontology”, generally, is a passive data structure that represents domain knowledge, where distinct classes, attributes and relations among classes are defined. A separate engine may operate or reason on this data structure to produce certain results. Within the context of the present invention, an “active ontology” may be thought of as an execution environment in which distinct processing elements are arranged in an ontology-like manner (e.g., having distinct attributes and relations with other processing elements). These processing elements carry out at least some of the typical tasks of an intelligent automated assistant. Although described within the context of an intelligent automated assistant, it will be understood that the concepts of the present invention may be implemented in accordance with any application that involves interaction with software.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of an active ontology execution environment 100 according to the present invention. The execution environment comprises an active ontology 102 that is adapted to receive one or more input facts or events 104 and process these inputs 104 to produce useful actions 106. In one embodiment, the active ontology 102 is tailored to a specific context. For example, the active ontology 102 may be adapted to remind a user to take medication after meals, where at least some of the input facts 104 relate to events collected from the user's surrounding environment (e.g., “the user is in the kitchen”, “the user is eating”, “the time is 8:00 AM”, etc.) and at least one of the actions 106 is produced in response to these facts (e.g., prompting the user to take the medication at the appropriate time).

To this end, the active ontology 102 comprises at least one active processing element or concept 108 ₁-108 _(n) (hereinafter collectively referred to as “concepts 108”). The concepts 108 may be thought of as the basic building block of the active ontology 102; concepts 108 both represent a sub-part of the execution environment 100 and perform computations or actions (e.g., natural language understanding, task execution, etc.) related to the sub-part. Concepts 108 are adapted to match to specific types of facts in order to perform these actions, and may be specifically configured to manage temporal constraints, service brokering strategies, fusion strategies, or other tasks.

In one embodiment, the concepts 108 are prioritized such that the input facts 104 are processed against the concepts 108 starting with a highest-ranked concept 108 and proceeding in descending order to a lowest-ranked concept 108. In one embodiment, at least two of the concepts 108 are communicatively coupled by a channel 110 ₁-110 _(n) (hereinafter collectively referred to as “channels 110”) that allows the concepts 108 to communicate and to share information. For example, concepts 108 may share all or part of their respective computation results with other concepts 108 over these channels 110. In this case, information propagated using the channels 110 may be weighted or associated with a probability such that joining concepts 108 may use these weights or probabilities when determining how further results derived from incoming information should be propagated.

In one embodiment, channels 110 possess properties 111 ₁-111 _(n) (hereinafter referred to as “properties 111”) that configure the relationship expressed between connected concepts. For example, a property “Mandatory” associated with a channel that connects a first concept and a second concept may express that the first concept cannot be valid if the second concept is not satisfied. Thus, for instance, if the first concept represents “MovieListing”, and the second concept represents “GeographicalArea”, the “Mandatory” property expresses that a user cannot request a MovieListing (e.g., “Find action movies starring actor X”) without also supplying a geographical location (“e.g., near San Francisco”).

Each concept 108 comprises a template including at least one rule 112 ₁-112 _(n) (hereinafter collectively referred to as “rules 112”) or rule set 114 (comprising multiple rules 112). Each rule 112 comprises a condition and an associated action. If an input fact matches a rule's condition, the associated action is triggered. In one embodiment, conditions may be evaluated as Java Script Boolean expressions (e.g., comprising slots), while associated actions are executed as Java Script programs. In further embodiment, rules 112 are prioritized within each concept 108 so that the rules are processed in an order of descending priority. Prioritization of rules allows for applications including activity recognition and action validation to share a common ontology structure. For example, a decision tree may be traversed in one direction for action execution, and then traversed in the opposite direction for action validation.

Among other advantages, active ontologies such as those described above can enable a simplified, efficient development scheme for intelligent automated assistants. Such a framework can be implemented to tie together multiple different programming applications, including applications capable of processing multimodal input, generating adaptable presentations, producing natural language dialogues, performing reactive planning, performing activity recognition and/or scheduling, and brokering, registering and coordinating distributed services, in a unified, visual framework. Thus, a single software developer may quickly and easily build an intelligent automated assistant using such a unified, developer-friendly development scheme.

As described in further detail with respect to FIG. 3, an active ontology such as the active ontology 100 may be built to process facts in order to achieve any one of a number of goals, including activity recognition (e.g., natural language processing, human activity recognition, etc.), reactive activity execution (e.g., pseudo-reactive planning, rule-based planning, etc.) and management of temporal constraints (e.g., for activity execution times), among others. A plurality of individual active ontologies may be built to execute a plurality of different goals, and these individual active ontologies may be integrated into a single processing unit such as an intelligent automated assistant. As described further below, these active ontologies may be managed in a manner that is significantly simpler than the traditional development process for intelligent automated assistants.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of an exemplary active ontology 200 that is configured as an assistant for reminding a user to take medicine after meals (e.g., configured for activity and/or time recognition). As illustrated, the active ontology 200 comprises at least one target task 202 (e.g., “take medicine after breakfast”) and a plurality of concepts 204 ₁-204 _(n) (hereinafter collectively referred to as “concepts 204”) representing potential user actions related to the target task 202 and to the modeled domain in which these actions are likely to occur (e.g., the user's home). The concepts 204 are communicatively coupled to other concepts 204 via a plurality of channels 210 ₁-210 _(n) (hereinafter collectively referred to as “channels 210”).

The active ontology 200 is also in communication with a plurality of sensors 206 ₁-206 _(n) (hereinafter collectively referred to as “sensors 206”) that are distributed throughout the modeled domain and are adapted to convey observed facts relating to the user's behavior (e.g., “the user is in the kitchen”; “the user is in the dining room”; “the user is in the bathroom”; etc.) to the higher-level concepts 204 for appropriate processing. Concepts 204 also communicate processing results (or at least partial processing results) to other concepts for further processing (e.g., if concept 204 ₈ verifies that the user is in the kitchen, concept 204 ₈ may convey this information to concept 204 ₃, which is configured to determine whether the user is getting food). In addition, a clock 208 may also be in communication with the concepts 204 to enable the management of temporal constraints (e.g., the user is expected to sit at the table for approximately twenty-five minutes while eating breakfast; the user should take his/her medicine approximately thirty minutes after finishing breakfast; etc.).

Thus, if the target task 202 is not observed as being executed (e.g., the active ontology 200 does not determine that the user has taken the medicine after a meal or within a predefined period of time after finishing a meal), one or more of the processing elements (concepts 204) may generate a reminder to prompt the user to perform the target task 202. Although the active ontology 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 is configured to manage activity and time recognition tasks, those skilled in the art will appreciate that similarly constructed active ontologies may be built for natural language recognition, task automation and other useful tasks. In general, the same structure or rule or set of rules can be used both to observe and understand the surrounding world and to act on such observations.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method 300 for processing facts in accordance with an active ontology (e.g., configured in a manner similar to the active ontology 100 of FIG. 1) according to the present invention. The method 300 may be executed at, for example, an intelligent automated assistant that interacts with a user in accordance with an active ontology.

The method 300 is initialized at step 302 and proceeds to step 304, where the method 300 collects at least one fact from the operating environment. In one embodiment, facts may be received via sensors (e.g., cameras, motion sensors, environmental and/or physical monitoring devices, etc.) distributed through the operating environment or from other multimodal user interfaces (e.g., a natural language interface, a graphical user interface, etc.). In one embodiment, collected facts are “tagged” upon receipt to identify an associated context and evaluation pass of the method 300.

In step 306, the method 300 processes the collected facts in accordance with at least one concept rule to identify valid conditions. In one embodiment, only facts that are associated (or “tagged”) with the current execution pass are processed in step 306. In one embodiment, concepts are processed in accordance with a predefined order of priority, and rules for each concept are likewise processed in accordance with a predefined order of priority. Thus, step 306 begins by processing relevant facts against the highest priority rule of the highest priority concept, and then processes the facts against the second-highest priority rule of the highest priority concept, and so on until all rules of the highest priority concept have been processed. Step 306 then moves on to the next-highest priority concept and proceeds in a likewise manner.

In one embodiment, processing of facts in accordance with step 306 also includes the sharing of information among concepts (e.g., via channels as described above). The processing priority order described above ensures that higher priority concepts are evaluated first while lower priority concepts are still executable within a common execution pass of the method 300.

In step 308, the method 300 executes the corresponding action for each valid condition that is identified in accordance with 306. The method 300 then proceeds to step 310 and waits for the next execution pass. In one embodiment, the execution passes of the method 300 are predefined such that the method 300 automatically executes at a given pace (e.g., once every x seconds). At the next execution pass, the method 300 returns to step 304 and proceeds as described above to evaluate a new set of facts.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of an open standard-based system 400 for developing and managing an intelligent system using active ontologies. In one embodiment, the system 400 includes an editor 402, a console 404 and a server 406. In one embodiment, the editor 402 and the console 404 communicate with the server 506 using SOAP-based communications.

The server 406 is adapted to store a plurality of individual active ontologies 408 ₁-408 _(n) (hereinafter collectively referred to as “active ontologies 408”) and to run selected (deployed) active ontologies 408 in an application domain. In one embodiment, the server 406 also stores observed facts for processing in accordance with an active ontology such as one of the stored or deployed active ontologies 408. Specifically, these facts may be used to stimulate currently deployed active ontologies 408. In one embodiment, the server 406 is a stand-alone application (e.g., a Java stand-alone application).

The editor 402 is interfaced to the server 406 and is adapted to retrieve active ontolgies 408 from the server 406 for editing. Specifically, the editor 402 is adapted to edit the concepts and/or rules embodied in the active ontologies 408 and to deploy or remove active ontolgies 408 from use. To this end, the editor 402 comprises a plurality of editing tools 410, for example embodied in a graphical user interface such as a task bar. In further embodiments, the editor 402 is also adapted to receive feedback directly from deployed active ontologies 408. In one embodiment, the editor 402 is a stand-alone application (e.g., a Java (Swing) stand-alone application).

The console 404 is also interfaced to the server 406 and is adapted to graphically model the application domain as an active ontology (e.g., by enabling the dragging and dropping and linking of objects and tasks) and to construct user queries (e.g., service requests) to be posed to the server 406, for example using a graphical user interface. Active ontologies constructed using the console 404 are stored at the server 406. The console 404 is further adapted to receive and display query results (e.g., specific stored active ontologies 408) sent by the server 406. In further embodiments, the console 404 is also adapted to stimulate deployed active ontologies 408 by sending new observed facts to the server 406. In one embodiment, the console 404 is a stand-alone application (e.g., a Java (Swing) stand-alone application).

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a framework 500 for dynamically registering and coordinating distributed services using active ontologies. Specifically, the framework 500 uses active ontologies to register remote services 508 ₁-508 _(n) (e.g., information services such as those for hotels, movies, etc., hereinafter collectively referred to as “services 508”) from a service-oriented architecture 502 (e.g., Web Services). These services 508 may then be implemented by an intelligent automated assistant, “on the fly”, to accomplish one or more tasks. Service-oriented architectures such as Web Services allow the standardized integration of web-based applications using the extensible markup language (XML), simple object access protocol (SOAP), web service definition language (WSDL) and universal description, discovery and integration (UDDI) open standards over an Internet Protocol (IP) backbone.

Thus, the framework 500 includes at least one active ontology 504 interfaced to a service-oriented architecture 502 via a service broker 506. As described above, the active ontology 504 graphically models a relevant domain (e.g., the objects in the relevant environment and the associated tasks to be accomplished) using a plurality of concepts or active processing elements 510 ₁-510 _(n) (used, for example, for service registration, language recognition, activity and/or time recognition, task automation, etc.) that communicate through message passing.

The service broker 506 is adapted to communicate asynchronously with the remote service-oriented architecture 502 and with the active processing elements 510 to select specific services 508 (e.g., based on meta-data about the services 508, including, for example, the service's call patterns or quality across various dimensions such as time, cost and completeness), to delegate tasks, queries and updates, and to monitor requests for services.

A service 508 registers with the active ontology 504 by specifying the active processing elements 510 that the service 508 can or cannot accept. Thus, the active ontology 504 is used to filter service requests to the appropriate services 508.

The framework 500 enables the rapid development of a system having capabilities similar to an open agent architecture framework (e.g., the framework 500 can dynamically, broker, register and coordinate distributed services to resolve user queries and perform requested tasks). Moreover, the framework 500 enables better follow-ups and dialogues with users, flexible definition of timing constraints and task execution and recognition, and can adapt a user interface to the level of a specific user.

FIG. 6 is a high level block diagram of the present intelligent system building method that is implemented using a general purpose computing device 600. In one embodiment, a general purpose computing device 600 comprises a processor 602, a memory 604, an intelligent system building module 605 and various input/output (I/O) devices 606 such as a display, a keyboard, a mouse, a modem, and the like. In one embodiment, at least one I/O device is a storage device (e.g., a disk drive, an optical disk drive, a floppy disk drive). It should be understood that the intelligent system building module 605 can be implemented as a physical device or subsystem that is coupled to a processor through a communication channel.

Alternatively, the intelligent system building module 605 can be represented by one or more software applications (or even a combination of software and hardware, e.g., using Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC)), where the software is loaded from a storage medium (e.g., I/O devices 606) and operated by the processor 602 in the memory 604 of the general purpose computing device 600. Thus, in one embodiment, the intelligent system building module 605 for building intelligent systems described herein with reference to the preceding Figures can be stored on a computer readable medium or carrier (e.g., RAM, magnetic or optical drive or diskette, and the like).

Thus, the present invention represents a significant advancement in the field of intelligent systems. The methods and apparatuses of the present invention enable intelligent systems, such as intelligent automated assistants, to be quickly and efficiently developed an “average” programmer (e.g., programmers who are not extensively versed in all necessary fields of technology). Capabilities including natural language interpretation and dialog, multimodal input, adaptable presentation (output), reactive planning, activity recognition/scheduling and coordination of distributed services, among others, can be integrated using a single, visual, unified framework. The manner in which software is built can thus be greatly simplified for many industries, including those which develop or rely on intelligent systems.

While foregoing is directed to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for building an automated assistant, the method comprising: registering, by a processor, a service for use in conjunction with an active ontology by specifying at least one of: one or more active processing elements that the service can accept; and one or more active processing elements that the service cannot accept; filtering, by the active ontology, at least one request for services to the service in accordance with the one or more active processing elements specified by the service; wherein: the active ontology is configured to perform natural language processing on user input, the natural language processing performed in response to input facts relating to events collected from a user's environment, and the active ontology comprises a plurality of active processing elements configured to match specific types of facts.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the active ontology models a domain, and wherein each active processing element of the plurality of active processing elements represents at least one of: an object in the domain and a task to be accomplished in the domain.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least two of the plurality of active processing elements communicate through message passing.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein each active processing element of the plurality of active processing elements is configured for at least one of: service registration, language recognition, activity recognition, time recognition and task automation.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the service is part of a service-oriented architecture, the method further comprising interfacing the service-oriented architecture to an execution environment including the active ontology.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the service-oriented architecture is interfaced to the active ontology via a service broker.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the service broker is configured for at least one of: remote service selection, task delegation, query issuance, update issuance and service request monitoring.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the service broker selects remote services for registration based on meta-data relating to the remote services.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the service is invoked by the automated assistant to accomplish one or more tasks.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein each active processing element of the plurality of active processing elements is configured to receive at least one fact and to perform at least one action responsive to the at least one fact, and wherein the at least one fact relates to at least one event collected from a user's environment.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of active processing elements is configured to send at least one fact to at least one other active processing element.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of active processing elements is configured to receive at least one fact from at least one other active processing element.
 13. An electronic device, comprising: one or more processors; memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for: registering, by a processor, a service for use in conjunction with an active ontology by specifying at least one of: one or more active processing elements that the service can accept; and one or more active processing elements that the service cannot accept; filtering, by the active ontology, at least one request for services to the service in accordance with the one or more active processing elements specified by the service; wherein: the active ontology is configured to perform natural language processing on user input, the natural language processing performed in response to input facts relating to events collected from a user's environment, and the active ontology comprises a plurality of active processing elements configured to match specific types of facts.
 14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the active ontology models a domain, and wherein each active processing element of the plurality of active processing elements represents at least one of: an object in the domain and a task to be accomplished in the domain.
 15. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein at least two of the plurality of active processing elements communicate through message passing.
 16. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein each active processing element of the plurality of active processing elements is configured for at least one of: service registration, language recognition, activity recognition, time recognition and task automation.
 17. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the service is part of a service-oriented architecture, the one or more programs further comprising instructions for interfacing the service-oriented architecture to an execution environment including the active ontology.
 18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the service-oriented architecture is interfaced to the active ontology via a service broker.
 19. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein the service broker is configured for at least one of: remote service selection, task delegation, query issuance, update issuance and service request monitoring.
 20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the service broker selects remote services for registration based on meta-data relating to the remote services.
 21. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the service is invoked by the automated assistant to accomplish one or more tasks.
 22. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein each active processing element of the plurality of active processing elements is configured to receive at least one fact and to perform at least one action responsive to the at least one fact, and wherein the at least one fact relates to at least one event collected from a user's environment.
 23. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein at least one of the plurality of active processing elements is configured to send at least one fact to at least one other active processing element.
 24. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein at least one of the plurality of active processing elements is configured to receive at least one fact from at least one other active processing element.
 25. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by an electronic device, cause the device to: register a service for use in conjunction with an active ontology by specifying at least one of: one or more active processing elements that the service can accept; and one or more active processing elements that the service cannot accept; filtering, by the active ontology, at least one request for services to the service in accordance with the one or more active processing elements specified by the service; wherein: the active ontology is configured to perform natural language processing on user input, the natural language processing performed in response to input facts relating to events collected from a user's environment, and the active ontology comprises a plurality of active processing elements configured to match specific types of facts. 